Raw Hot Chocolate

I love it when I discover things by accident, especially when they’re as delicious as this raw hot chocolate.

I also love that I’m finally getting skilled enough in the kitchen to throw something together, and it actually works!

I can’t tell you how often I’ve got “creative” and ended up with something that tasted foul. F-O-U-L, foul!

And I always have the same dilemma – do I struggle through and eat it, even though it tastes horrible, or do I feed it to the worms (in our compost bin)?

But I’m so pleased that I’m finally getting a feel for this whole “cooking” thing, and I’ve only been doing it for, what 15-20 years?

OK, I’ll admit it, I’ve only been creating raw food recipes for about 2½ years, so maybe it doesn’t have to take that long to get the hang of it.

So if you’re worried about being more adventurous in the kitchen, take it from me, you may make some duds now and then, but it’s definitely worth it, because you’ll get better and better, and in no time you’ll be making food that everyone loves.

Anyway, this raw hot chocolate was the result of one of those happy accidents.

I was soaking some cashews to make something or other, and I just got to the point where I’d had enough of restocking the kitchen.

As much as I love the fact that my family enjoys eating the dishes I make, sometimes I get bored with making the same old things. (I like to experiment, had you noticed?)

Tips

You don’t have to soak the cashews if you don’t want to, or if you don’t have the time. I’ve made it with soaked and unsoaked cashews and the result is pretty similar. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, then pre-soaking the cashews might help to create a smoother texture.

I prefer to use Loving Earth’s Really Raw Organic Cashews, so pre-soaking them will also improve the availability of the nutrients in these truly raw nuts.

You can play with the number of dates to get the flavour balance you prefer. You might find that 3 is not sweet enough for your taste buds, so try 4 small ones or 3 extra large ones. Similarly, you can make it less sweet by reducing the amount of dates in the mix. It’s up to you.

I love using Loving Earth’s Raw Cacao Powder, and once again, if you find the chocolate flavour too strong, you can always add less.

You can make your own vanilla bean powder, by air-drying vanilla beans for 1-2 months (or until they snap instead of bending), and then grinding them in a coffee or spice grinder. Or you can save yourself the trouble and buy ready-made raw organic vanilla powder from someone like Loving Earth. (I’m a big fan of theirs, can you tell?)

This recipe does come out quite thick and rich, so if you want something a little lighter, you can add more water and make two regular mugs of raw hot chocolate – one for you, and one for you someone you love.

The strawberry is optional, but it does complement the chocolate flavour very well. If you have another fresh fruit you prefer in combination with chocolate (e.g. mango, blueberry, banana), you could always use that instead.

To make this “hot” chocolate, just keep blending it at high speed until the outside of the jug feels warm. If it’s not too hot to touch, it should be about the right temperature. It may start steaming a little, but if it doesn’t burn your mouth when you drink it, then it’s still raw (unless you have lips of steel).

I like to drink this pretty much as soon as I’ve poured it into the mug. In fact, I break one of my usual rules for this recipe, and actually drink my raw hot chocolate before I clean the jug. Partly because I usually make too much to fit into my mug, but also because I don’t want it to cool down before I get to drink it. Just make sure you’re not too blissed out afterwards to go back and wash the blender jug.

If you want to have this in warmer weather, just replace half the water with ice-cubes, and blend just long enough to make it completely smooth, and have yourself a raw iced chocolate treat instead. Mmmmmmm.

My inspiration

This is one of my completely original, made-up-on-the-spot recipes, born out of the desire to use up some soaked cashews and a hankering for a warm, comforting drink.

I also wanted to keep it simple, and to stick to using wholefood ingredients as much as possible.

Oh yes, and it had to pass the usual “tastes so good I want more” test.

And I’d have to say that my raw hot chocolate recipe is a raging success on all fronts.

Enjoy!

Want more great recipes like this?

Sign up for email updates and get them delivered straight to your inbox.

What others are saying...

WOW! This looks so good. I would totally devour this if it weren’t 600 (!!) calories for what amounts to 13 ounces (a little more than a Starbuck’s tall). Is there anyway to decrease the calorie count? Or an explanation as to why it’s so high in calories?

Yes, this is definitely not a low calorie drink! The cashews account for almost 400 calories and the dates almost 200 calories, with a small contribution from the cacao powder. You could definitely have this as your breakfast/lunch/dinner, but maybe not all three ;).

If you wanted to make it lower in calories, you could use bananas instead of the cashews and dates, which would of course make it a whole new recipe. My focus is on food that’s raw, vegan, whole and delicious, because I love making nutritious food that’s fun.

Yes, the dates are definitely for the sweetness, so you could use honey instead for sure, or any other natural sweetener that you prefer. The flavour and the consistency will change a little, but I’m sure it would still be delicious.

I wish I hadn’t glossed over the fact that this recipe is 600 calories. This is enough for 6 servings, not one. Not everyone has someone to split the serving in half with, either, and the recipe becomes pudding when you later put it in the microwave.

I made this, and not even halfway through drinking it, started to feel a bit queasy, and headache-y. I had to put the excess in the freezer, hopefully it will make nice fudge popsicles.

In the future, I’ll drink 1/6 of this as a hot chocolate snack (~100 calories) and put 5 popsicle molds in the freezer. Or, I’ll use my own recipe, with far less nuts, dates, and in proportion, vanilla and cocoa powder. I’d rather drink more water than lose my appetite for my next meal.

I am on the treadmill as I type this, to burn fat and sugar off. Maybe this recipe as one serving would be great before a marathon. But not as part of a pretty sedentary day, unless you want to gain weight. So much for eating dinner, tonight. I was complacent about the recipe being healthy, just because it’s vegan and dairy free, but this will be a reminder for me in the future, to still be diligent.

Healthy and low-calorie are far from synonymous. What ingredients in this are unhealthy? Needing to instantly hop on the treadmill and skip dinner because you had a 300 calorie snack (since you only had half) is far more unhealthy.

Hi Nikki!
I came here searching for a raw hot chocolate recipe and you delivered! Thanks so much. I’m so glad I discovered your website.

Raw cacao really helps me manage depression and the blahs if I have about 2 Tablespoons a day. Over the summer I ate raw cacao in a frozen banana/chocolate ice cream. It was wonderful! But now that it’s getting cold I wanted find a way to get my cacao in a warm drink.

My favourite cookbooks

My favourite kitchen gadgets

Having the right gadgets has totally changed my experience in the kitchen.

High-speed blender

I use my Vitamix blender at least 2-3 times EVERY day. It's fast, so versatile and super quick and easy to clean. I couldn't live without mine. I absolutely love it!

Food processor

I use my powerful food processor three or four times a week, for making nut butters, desserts, sauces, burgers and more. It's great for large batches and dishes that need texture and just makes "cooking" so much faster.

Dehydrator

I use my 5-tray Excalibur dehydrator once or twice a week, for crackers, breads, biscuits, cakes or even just for thawing things. It does an awesome job and makes eating raw SO much easier.

Please note: I support my site with ads and affiliate links. I earn a commission every time you click on an ad or buy a product via an affiliate link. If you don't want to support my site, please make sure that you don't click on any ads or affiliate links. (Affiliate links turn orange when you hover over them and have a tooltip that begins with "Affiliate Link".) This will ensure that I don't receive any income while you are using my site. Thank you and have an awesome day!